Shows
Extreme UncertaintyAaron Hsu - Catching the TsunamiWhat do you know about face masks?
Chances are, you know a lot. We all do. What most of us don’t know is face masks present a real problem for medical professionals trying to communicate with people, particularly those who are deaf or hard of hearing. When Aaron Hsu and his cofounders launched ClearMask in 2017, it was the result of cofounder Allysa Dittmar’s experiences dealing with this issue firsthand. But what started as a part-time passion project in 2017 turned into something very different in 2020—a year when the world had a very real, very immediate need f...2021-04-2229 min
Extreme UncertaintyCrossover Extremaganza - Mike & Mike on the Secure Ventures PodcastAnd now, for something completely different. This week, Mike and Mike join Kyle McNulty on the Security Ventures Podcast. The Mikes had a wide-ranging conversation with Kyle about the challenges of raising capital as a cyber startup, how cyber venture fundraising differs from other verticals at the angel and seed stage, and what entrepreneurs should think about when they're prepping for a capital raise, and what can make a pitch really fly--or flop. We hope you enjoy the conversation, and check out the Secure Ventures podcast wherever you get your podcasts.2021-04-011h 00
Secure Ventures with Kyle McNultyBonus: Mike and Mike on Venture Capital in CybersecurityWhile episodes so far focused on the stories of founders, in this episode I interview the hosts of the Extreme Uncertainty podcast, Mike Ravenscroft and Mike Leffer, who are prominent venture capitalists in the security space. The episode includes a glimpse into the untraditional routes into VC as well as several tips for founders looking for funding and idiosyncrasies of the security market when looking at potential investments. This is one of my favorite episodes so far, as it provides additional background as to the struggles of every founder I have interviewed on the show.
Their podcast...2021-03-3057 min
Extreme UncertaintyThe (Temporary) College DropoutWhat do you know about your employer-provided benefits?
Chances are, not much. That's because benefits packages are complex and making an informed decision is challenging for employees. It's also a problem for insurance companies trying to underwrite policies, as well as employers seeking to give their employees the best option for themselves and their families.
Akash Magoon is CTO and Co-Founder of Nayya, a platform providing personalized benefits education that's transforming the employee benefits industry. Akash shares his journey from (temporary) college dropout to CTO of a rapidly scaling technology startup. Akash grew up interested...2021-03-1837 min
Extreme UncertaintyAlex Bisignano - The Covid PivotWhat do you know about pivoting a tech company in the midst of a global pandemic?
Unfortunately, if you're an entrepreneur, you know a whole lot about this very thing. For Alex Bisignano and his team at Phosphorous, 2020 started off strong. They had a growing business delivering next-generation sequencing (NGS) genetics testing products. And then Covid happened. After watching his run rate drop to near zero in the space of a few weeks, Alex, his team, and his investors worked together to engineer a company-wide pivot. Leveraging their collective expertise in testing, Phosphorous released a critical new...2021-03-0541 min
Extreme UncertaintyCyndi Gula - Co-Founder for Life Part IIWhat do you know about Data Care?
Our guest on the podcast today is Cyndi Gula, Co-Founder of Gula Tech Adventures and former VP of Operations and Co-Founder of Tenable Security. She’s also at the vanguard of a movement to change cybersecurity—everything from how we think about who “belongs” in the industry to the name itself. Cyndi started her career as a ceramics engineer before jumping with into a life of entrepreneurship. Since launching and exiting Network Security Wizards, Cyndi helped launch Tenable and scaled operations from 5 to over 500 employees. Cyndi tells us about her entrepre...2021-02-1845 min
Extreme UncertaintyYanek Korff - Pay It ForwardWhat do you know about what keeps a Chief Information Security Officer up at night?
Yanek Korff spent his career in cybersecurity as an engineer and business leader helping enterprises manage cybersecurity threats. It wasn't until he left FireEye and was considering his next move (in between playing a lot of XBox) that he and a former colleague were inspired to launch a company to help CISOs manage their cybersecurity operations. The inspiration? A tweet. (Seriously.)
Yanek shares his journey and the challenges of going from an engineer to a business leader to a...2021-02-1236 min
Extreme UncertaintyEllison Anne Williams - The Holy GrailWhat do you know about cryptography?
For decades, researchers and data scientists in the federal government and commercial enterprises have invested millions to crack the code on homomorphic encryption—that is, how to keep data secure while it's in use. Our guest on the podcast today spent the first part of her career at the National Security Agency as one of those scientists, and she's the one who cracked the code.
In 2016, Dr. Ellison Anne Williams left the NSA to found Enveil, the first commercial company to provide security for data in use. Also kn...2021-01-2831 min
Extreme UncertaintyRon Gula - Co-Founder for LifeWhat do you know about launching, scaling, and exiting a cybersecurity startup?
Our guest today needs no introduction. Ron Gula is the Former CEO and Co-Founder of Tenable, a global cybersecurity company headquartered in Columbia, MD. Ron and his wife Cyndi launched Tenable in 2002 and saw it through to a successful IPO in 2018. Over that time, Ron and Cyndi emerged as leading voices in cybersecurity through their work as investors, though-leaders, and philanthropists. In addition, Ron and Cyndi have invested in dozens of cybersecurity startups, many of which have scaled and come to define the startup...2021-01-2149 min
Extreme UncertaintyPeter Baumann - The Dangerous GeneWhat do you know about data discovery?
Organizations large and small struggle to manage and make use of their data. Whereas most organizations understand their structured data assets, unstructured data poses a security risk for those companies that don't manage and secure it. It's also a potential treasure trove of insights that most companies aren't equipped to tap into. ActiveNav helps organizations discover and manage their unstructured data to make use of their data assets and minimize risk of breach and ensure proper data governance. CEO and Founder Peter Baumann launched ActiveNav in 2008 just as the...2021-01-1439 minExtreme UncertaintySamier Mansur - Mission DrivenWhat do you know about launching a non-profit technology venture?
Our guest on the podcast today is Samier Mansur, CEO and Founder of No Limit Generation, a Washington DC based non-profit that equips refugee aid-workers with trauma informed mental health and wellness tools developed by world renowned experts. While working to support on the ground relief efforts during the Rohingya refugee crisis, Samier realized that traditional aid workers were not equipped to address the mental health needs of children in crisis zones. Having previously co-founded the successful public safety technology company LifeSafe, Samier realized this might be...2020-12-1742 min
Extreme UncertaintyChandler Givens - Timing the MarketWhat do you know about device fingerprinting?
When Chandler Givens and his co-founder launched TrackOff, the market for protecting privacy on the internet was taking off in a big way. As Chandler learned quickly, there's nothing like learning to surf in rough seas. Chandler talks about TrackOff's humble beginnings and subsequent growth, their punk-rock marketing tactics that garnered national media coverage, and their eventual acquisition by global cybersecurity firm Avast. He shares the challenges of scaling a startup and offers his advice to founders who are going through the grind and asking themselves, "When is the right...2020-12-1051 minExtreme UncertaintyKen Malone - Extreme CertaintyWhat do you know about aquaculture? Or machine vision? How about drug design? Custom materials?
It's a lot of ground to cover. Thankfully, our guest on the podcast this week is the perfect trail guide. Ken Malone is the Co-Founder of Early Charm Ventures, a Baltimore-based venture studio that turns science into business. Ken spent most of his career as an engineer-turned-entrepreneur, identifying promising technologies at the university research stage and accelerating them into the market. After over a decade in the private sector and academia, Ken and his wife decided there was an opportunity in Baltimore...2020-12-0258 min
Extreme UncertaintyIshan Girdhar - Smart MoneyWhat do you know about third party vendor risk assessment?
Our guest on the pod today is Ishan Girdhar, CEO and Founder of Privva. Privva is an Arlington-based provider of third-party risk assessment tools for enterprises. Ishan shares his story of jumping into the world of entrepreneurship after pitching the idea for Privva in meetings with C-Suite executives and realizing he could sell the solution with just a pitch deck. From identifying the opportunity to actually launching the business, Ishan talks about the challenges they faced hiring top talent, the allure of sales efforts that end up...2020-11-1931 min
Extreme UncertaintyJess Gartner - Agent of ChangeWhat do you know about managing school district budgets?
This week, the Mikes speak with Jess Gartner, CEO and Founder of Allovue. Allovue is a Baltimore-based Ed-Fintech company that helps school districts allocate resources and manage their budgets to ensure equitable access to education resources for all students.
Jess started her career as a teacher in Baltimore City Schools. In that time, she came to experience the harsh realities facing schools and students--everything from a profound lack of resources to an unequal distribution of opportunities. Jess decided to leave teaching and build a solution...2020-11-1248 min
Extreme UncertaintyMarcus Bullock - Build the Parachute on the Way DownWhat do you know about communicating with an incarcerated loved one?
For millions of Americans, this problem is all too familiar. And it’s a problem our guest on the podcast today experienced firsthand.
Marcus Bullock is the CEO and Founder of Flikshop, a company that helps people communicate and maintain connections with their incarcerated friends and family members. Marcus shares his personal journey from being incarcerated at the age of 15 to founding a company that has grown to serve people at over 2500 prisons nationwide. He offers his advice to founders on everything from building a...2020-10-2955 min
Extreme UncertaintyGrant Elliott - Just Keep SwimmingWhat do you know about cybersecurity in healthcare?
You’ve probably heard news reports about the surge in cybersecurity incidents across the healthcare industry throughout 2020. The reality is that developing and maintaining a robust cybersecurity and risk management program is a challenge for any organization. For healthcare companies in particular, it’s difficult to stay up to date with a rapidly evolving cybersecurity compliance landscape. Our guest on the pod today saw these problems firsthand when he was CISO at the health IT company Voxiva and he decided to do something about it.
Grant Elliott is C...2020-10-2249 min
Extreme UncertaintyColin Dunn - The Harley Davidson PurchaseWhat do you know about our nation’s critical infrastructure?
Enough to concern you? Us too. That’s why we called up Colin Dunn, CEO of Fend Technologies, who reminded us just how scared we should be--and what his startup is doing to try to help us all sleep easier at night.
Colin is an engineer by training, and he spent the early part of his career working with governments and utilities on many of the challenges that persist in the industry. Colin saw how critical sites across the country were struggling to optimize ener...2020-10-1553 minExtreme UncertaintyLiza Rodewald - Accidental EntrepreneurWhat do you know about remote work?
Yep. Us too. We all know pretty much everything there is to know about remote work. Nothing more to learn here.
But here's another question: What do you know about being a military spouse?
Our guest on the podcast today is Liza Rodewald, CEO of Instant Teams. Liza is a military spouse who moved frequently with her family. She's also an accomplished software engineer who ran her own business for over a decade building custom enterprise applications for government and commercial clients. Liza and her cofounder...2020-10-0846 min
Extreme UncertaintyGideon Taub - Building MomentumWhat do you know about charitable giving?
About 80% of all charitable donations in the US come from individuals, which in 2019 was over $300 billion. However, most charitable giving is ad hoc and many people struggle to effectively manage their donations. For corporations and banks seeking to incentivize charitable giving with donor-match programs, that challenge is even greater.
Our guest on the podcast today is Gideon Taub, CEO of Pinkaloo Technologies. Gideon and his team experienced these problems firsthand and launched Pinkaloo to modernize charitable giving for individuals, corporations, and banks. Since launching in 2017, Pinkaloo has...2020-10-0149 min
Extreme UncertaintyMark Olcott - Not Within These Four WallsWhat do you know about veterinary medicine?
It’s alright—neither did we before we spoke with Mark Olcott, CEO of Vitus Vet. Turns out it takes a vet to understand there are challenges to running a veterinary practice beyond caring for sick animals. In an industry that still relies on fax machines to send medical records, veterinary practice owners struggle to manage payments, schedule appointments, and streamline back office workflows. Mark saw the problem firsthand when he was a vet managing his own practice, and he tells the story of Vitus Vet's origins when he met his...2020-09-2453 min
Extreme UncertaintyNick Culbertson - Don't Make ExcusesWhat do you know about drug diversion?
Our guest today is Nick Culbertson, CEO and Co-Founder of Protenus, a Baltimore-based healthcare technology company. Nick was in medical school and doing research at Johns Hopkins University when he and his eventual Co-Founder realized that hospitals have a big problem managing risk and maintaining compliance--a problem their work in data analytics might be able to solve. Nick talks to us about how his background as a Green Beret in the US Army prepared him to step into the role of a founder, and how Protenus went from a two...2020-09-1753 min
Extreme UncertaintyCraig Stevenson and Jessica Crytzer - Dump Trucks Full of MoneyWhat do you know about cloud computing environment visualization?
For episode three, we spoke with startup warriors Craig Stevenson, CEO, and Jessica Crytzer, Chief Revenue Officer of HyperQube Technologies. HyperQube is a platform that makes visualizing entire cloud networks as simple as clicking a button—but how the team got there wasn’t so simple. Craig talks about his early days as an engineer at Raytheon training cybersecurity teams and how he waited years to take the leap into entrepreneurship, working alongside startups and mentoring cybersecurity entrepreneurs before becoming one himself. He and Jessica share their lessons lear...2020-09-1048 min
Extreme UncertaintyMatt Bjonerud - The Fog of WarWhat do you know about the challenges of raising debt capital to finance the growth of a mid-market company?
In this episode, we spoke with Matt Bjonerud, CEO of Cerebro Capital, a Baltimore-based fintech startup. Matt spent the early part of his career in corporate banking with PNC, where he learned about the challenges mid-market companies face raising capital, as well as the challenges prospective lenders face in finding lending opportunities to the mid-market. Matt launched Cerebro Capital to simplify an opaque process that was ultimately hampering corporate growth for mid-market companies globally. In our conversation, we...2020-09-0355 min
Extreme UncertaintyJoe Saunders - Logically UniqueWhat do you know about software hardening?
For our first episode, we sat down with Joe Saunders, CEO of RunSafe Security, a cybersecurity company based in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Joe is the Founder and CEO of RunSafe, and he built his career in tech as part of the Management Team at TARGUSinfo, where he helped grow the company to over $100M in revenue. Joe serves on the advisory boards of numerous tech companies and is an expert in cybersecurity and enterprise sales strategy. He talks to us about how RunSafe is building innovative cybersecurity solutions to protect...2020-08-2441 min
Extreme UncertaintyMinimum Viable ProductWelcome to Extreme Uncertainty, a podcast about entrepreneurship. In this teaser episode, we give thanks to our early adopters, and explain why we're making this podcast. 2020-08-2405 min